Christian Yelich‘s rebound season is over.
The 32-year-old outfielder announced on social media Thursday that he will undergo season-ending back surgery performed by Dr. Brandon Rebholz on Friday in Milwaukee.
Yelich, the 2018 NL MVP, slashed .315/.406/.504 with 11 home runs and 21 stolen bases through 73 games this season for the Milwaukee Brewers, becoming a third-time All-Star.
He has been out since July 23, dealing with back issues that have plagued him over the past couple of years.
“It just got the point, where it wasn’t getting better,” Yelich said in a video released on his personal account on X. “Tried everything I could. Ran out of options and it came time to make a decision.”
“It sucks. There’s no other way to really put it than it sucks. It’s terrible, but it’s a part of sports, you get hurt, you get fixed and you get back out there,” Yelich added after confirming that his surgery was scheduled.
After beating the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier Thursday, the Brewers sit atop the NL Central with a 69-52 record and lead the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals by nine games in the division.
“It’s so weird when you’re hurt. Like you’re on the team, but you feel like you’re not,” Yelich said. “You’re kind of just there. You help out in any way you can. It’s just like, you’re not really in the grind with the guys…
“It’s a great group of guys. They’re playing extremely well and (I’m) extremely happy to watch them and see what they’re going to do, and hopefully, they can win the division and get in the playoffs.”
Yelich is in the middle of a nine-year, $215 million contract that he signed ahead of the 2020 season. Unfortunately, injuries have sapped his MVP form over the past few seasons. Since signing that deal, he has just a .787 OPS compared to the 1.046 mark he posted during his first two seasons with Milwaukee.
